1-800-896-5587 (Mon-Fri, 7am-6pm MDT) Annual Membership . The appeal was the Roberts team, the challenge, and the firm's culture. Ralph J. Roberts, 95, the soft-spoken visionary who in 1963 bought a tiny subscriber-TV system in Tupelo, Miss., and built it into Comcast Corp., the nation's leading cable company, died Thursday night in Philadelphia. DOUGLAS ROBERTS OBITUARY ROBERTS, DOUGLAS M. Lawton Passed away July 28, 2012 at his residence. He is steel. Brian, born in 1959, was the fourth. At the time of his death, Mr. Roberts was past president and chairman emeritus of the public company, which has its headquarters on John F. Kennedy Boulevard. I speak for all of us when I say he will be greatly missed. Born in Trenton, Doug was a longtime Ewing resident. He rose to president and chief executive at Pioneer and eventually bought the company. [4] Roberts received awards from the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the Walter Kaitz Foundation, the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, The National Conference of Christians and Jews, the Urban League of Philadelphia, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement,[7] and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. father . Like many media entrepreneurs, Ralph Roberts created several classes of stock, enabling him to issue equity without losing control. Comcast's decision in late April to abandon its $45 billion deal to buy Time Warner Cable Inc. was a rare misstep for the company and a trimming of its ambitions for the moment. He is also survived by his eight grandchildren. Ralph J. Roberts, the man whofounded Comcast Corp. with the purchase of a 1,200-subscriber cable television system in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1963, died Thursday night of natural causes in Philadelphia. He was born on January 6, 1955 in Tampa, Florida, the son of Terrance Andrew Roberts, Sr. and Geraldine (Boyce) Thompson. "During this period, even before 1979 . In 2011, fulfilling the Robertses long-held interest in NBC, Comcast acquired a majority stake in NBCUniversal from General Electric for $6.5 billion; in doing so, it became one of the industrys leading content producers. He was a gentle soul with an infectious spirit who will be greatly missed. DOUGLAS ROBERTS OBITUARY Douglas J. Roberts Of Candor Douglas James Roberts, 51, of Candor, passed away suddenly at home on Monday, May 9, 2011. Messages run for up to one year and you Ralph J. Roberts founded Comcast Corp. in 1963. I lived at home.'' But if Brian were not up to it, he would not have stood a chance because you can't sacrifice all the people in the place for a poor manager. The 1998 Inquirer Executive Compensation Survey showed that Mr. Roberts was paid $45 million, ranking second on The Inquirer's list of the most highly compensated chief executives in the region. Roberts was born on March 13, 1920, in New York City. Mr. Roberts has reason to track the way family-run companies pass the baton from one generation to next. Comcast, the company that the venture became (with Mr. Aaron and Mr. Brodsky as its first two employees), has 27.2 million subscribers and produced $68.8 billion in revenue in 2014, the company said. Send a note, share a story or upload a photo. I went to the University of Pennsylvania. Ralph Roberts took the time to sort out with each child the ambitions and passions of life, and to stay engaged, as these changed, his son said. 2023 WWB Holdings, LLC. Brian L. Roberts (born June 28, 1959) is an American billionaire businessman, and the chairman and CEO of Comcast, an American company providing cable, entertainment, and communications products and services which was founded by his father, Ralph J. Roberts. Mr. Roberts allowed himself an indulgence - the purchase of a farm in Chester County. Start searching today using our powerful and intuitive search. I didn't want it to appear that he was just his father's son.''. In 1996, Comcast spent $240 million and agreed to pick up $170 million in debt to gain the majority interest in the Flyers, the 76ers, the Spectrum, and what was then the CoreStates Center. But as Brian Roberts worked his way up the ladder, the halcyon 1980's came to an end. ''She had a lot of friends, and she decided to go into the insurance business, and everybody she knew bought a policy from her the first year to keep us going,'' he said. Ralph J. Roberts, the man who founded Comcast Corp. with the purchase of a 1,200-subscriber cable television system in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1963, died Thursday night of natural causes in. Moving to Germantown with his family from New Rochelle, N.Y., after his father's death, he graduated from Germantown High School and in 1941 from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a bachelor's degree. "Ralph served as a longtime member of the Penn Medicine board, and actively supported athletics, undergraduate financial aid, and his class." He graduated from Ewing High School and studied automotive technology at the Lincoln Technical Institute on a scholarship. "That's what he stood for. Jun 19, 2015. Mr. Roberts has been married to his wife, Suzanne, for 54 years. "I never had a bad idea in working for him for 30-plus years," Roberts said. The company is clearly planning for the day that Ralph Roberts will no longer be running the show. When she was 60 years old, Mrs. Roberts got her undergraduate and master's degrees in psychology and now works with abused children. Bob McGovern He was an icon, a mentor and friend to so many. He died on June 18, 2015, of natural causes. There are no events at this time. [13][14], Roberts made an appearance on TLC's reality series Cake Boss, receiving a cake for his 90th birthday. [8] The Suzanne F. and Ralph J. Roberts Foundation was one of the largest contributors to the restoration of the Alfred W. Fleisher Memorial Synagogue at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia named in the honor of his father-in-law. The Roberts Family Remembers Ralph J. Roberts. He did this by encouraging free-flowing discussion, then focusing the issue with probing questions. "I think maybe Ralph Roberts is the most successful businessman in the last 50 years that most people haven't heard of. '', Ralph Roberts acknowledges that he was the heavy. In early 2011, after a protracted review by federal regulators, Comcast acquired 51 percent of NBC Universal from General Electric Co. The deal made Comcast the nations largest cable operator. Funeral Home website by. He has five children, aged 36 to 47. Comcast - the name borrowed from communications and broadcasting - was incorporated in 1969 and began its legendary climb. It also sells those services to businesses. His main goal at the time was to make a lot of money. He wanted to marry her after several years, but she wasn't ready. He owned various companies, including Pioneer Suspenders, which marketed wallets and belts for men. Burial will follow at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Hillside, IL. To send flowers Your entry has exceeded the maximum character limit. It is only natural for the world to wonder: How will Brian's siblings react to all this? His father's greatest skill, he said, ''is the ability to make the hard decision at the crucial moment.''. "Ralph has been the heart and soul of Comcast for 50 years," said his son, Comcast president and CEO Brian L. Roberts, in a note to employees Friday morning. I believe the reason we are still in this business when so many others have long since departed was his will to succeed, and to do it with certain core values and integrity. It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Douglas A. Roberts of Mount Carmel, Illinois, born in Tampa, Florida, who passed away on May 2, 2021, at the age of 66, leaving to mourn family and friends. Douglas was born April 10, 1943 in Los Angeles, CA. Burke watched the father-son team when Mr. Roberts was chairman and his son president, and found their interplay businesslike and seamless. Executive vice president David L. Cohen jumped to Comcast in 2002 from a high-profile job as chairman of the Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll law firm. IT helps, of course, that only one of the children desperately wanted to follow in Dad's footsteps. California residents do not sell my data request. Comcast, a name Roberts coined from the words communications and broadcasting. In a statement, Mayor Michael Nutter remembered the business visionary and family man. "For me, the culture and comfort and chemistry have always been really important. I cannot remember a time during our relationship where a cross word passed between us. Douglas McArthur ROBERTS, age 79, of Rancho Cucamonga, California passed away on Monday, May 16, 2022. Douglas A. Roberts, 66, of Mount Carmel, Illinois, passed away on Sunday, May 2, 2021 at his residence. He credits his mother for pulling the family through hard times. While building Comcast, he built an economic engine for the city of Philadelphia as well.". He knew that "people love television," according to his biography; he staked his future on that love, and won. ", Mr. Roberts met his wife at a dance in 1937 when he was 17, she 16. Your email will not be used for any other purpose. He wants the other person to always feel good, whatever the exchange is. The son, meanwhile, remains an understudy of the father -- and the father is impressing upon the son the need to play hardball when the occasion demands it. He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and served four years in the U.S. Navy. ''He gives more speeches than anyone who is asked,'' said one media executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 2023 SCI SHARED RESOURCES, LLC. We all will.". Mr. Roberts, typically dapper in his signature bow tie and Brooks Brothers suits, became his sons mentor and sounding board, and the two were admired as a potent business partnership while never displaying the kind of strained and tempestuous relationship that can flare when a son succeeds a successful father. CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. ''Hopefully, I have had more experience than most people,'' he said, ''but you never know.''. In addition, Ralph Roberts personally owns another 5.2 million nonvoting shares, as well as 319,00 class A shares. ''This is a relatively unusual situation,'' said Leon Danco, president of the Center for Family Studies. To be sure, he adds, ''At an important fork in the road, Brian will go off to his father'' to get the older man's stamp of approval. He managed to get a photograph of Bob Hope holding the club and asked him to endorse it, to help out a veteran, Mr. Roberts recalled, but there was never any formal agreement. With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. "Our city has lost a wonderful champion with his passing.". Comfort the family with flowers or a sympathy gift. ''I don't think Ralph knows any more about Brian's personal life than he knows about the others. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. He was a killer dancer - the only thing he bragged about. We have all learned so much from Ralph, but perhaps the greatest lesson was the way he lived his life. Then he turned the company over to his son at an early age. Like many other cable companies, Comcast peaked in late 1993, at $28.17 a share. In a high-pressure corporate world that demands long hours from its executives, Mr. Roberts was proud to say that he was sure to be home for dinner with his wife and children nearly every night. [1], When Roberts was five the family moved to New Rochelle, New York and then after his father died of a heart-attack, to Germantown, Philadelphia when he was seventeen to live with his stepfather Harry Bobrow, of Bobrow Brothers Cigars. He has five children, aged 36 to 47. That was hardly a coincidence. This site is provided as a service of SCI Shared Resources, LLC. He was the greatest influence in my life and a joy for me to work side by side with for over three decades. He is survived by : his parents, Terrance Andrew Roberts, Sr. and Geraldine Thompson (Boyce); his children, Sarah Roberts-Hanna, Katherine Allen, Sabrina McComas and Daniel Roberts; his grandchildren, Harper, Emily and Taylor; and his siblings, Danny Roberts and Charmaine Hankins. It may take up to 1 hour for your comment to appear on the website. PhillyVoice Contributor. Before he founded Comcast, Roberts was president and CEO of Pioneer Industries, a leading mens clothing accessories company, vice president of Muzak Corp. and an account executive with Aitken Kynett Advertising Agency, according to his company biography. Her after several years, but perhaps the greatest lesson was the heavy be the... Roberts got her undergraduate and master 's degrees in psychology and now works with abused children his way the... Her undergraduate and master 's degrees in psychology and now works with abused children and his douglas roberts comcast obituary 2011 at an age... The crucial moment. 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